WWW.LIVELAW.

IN
1

REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL No. 434 OF 2016

(ARISING OUT OF SLP (CIVIL) NO.23311 OF 2015)

STATE OF RAJASTHAN & ORS

APPELLANTS

VERSUS
GOTAN LIME STONE KHANJI UDYOG PVT. LTD.
& ANR.

...RESPONDENTS

J U D G M E N T

ADARSH KUMAR GOEL, J

1.

Leave granted.

quashing

of

its

The State of Rajasthan is aggrieved by the

order

dated

16th

December,

2014

whereby

it

declared its earlier order dated 25th April, 2012 as void and
cancelled the mining lease No.45 of 1993.

By the said earlier

order the aforesaid lease was permitted to be transferred in

favour of Respondent No.1.
2.

Question

for

consideration

is

whether

looking

at

the

substance of the transaction in question, an illegal transfer of

mining lease was involved? Whether transformation of partnership

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into

company

and

transfer

of

lease

rights

to

such

company,

though apparently valid and permitted, has to be seen with the

next transaction of transfer of the entire shareholding to a
third company for a price thereby avoiding declaration of real
transaction of sale of mining lease which was not permissible.
Further question is whether on this basis the State is justified
in cancelling the lease which the High Court has quashed.
3.

FACTS

M/s.

Gotan

Limestone

Khanji

Udhyog

(GLKU),

partnership firm, held a mining lease for mining limestone at

village Dhaappa, Tehsil Merta, District Nagaur in area of 10 sq.
km at fixed rent of Rs.1,42,85,224/- per annum for which third
renewal for 30years was granted w.e.f. 8th April, 1994.

The said

lessee applied for transfer of the lease in favour of respondent

No.1

herein,

M/s.

Gotan

Limestone

(GLKUPL) on 28th March, 2012.

Khanji

Udhyog

Pvt.

Ltd.

The application dated 28th March,

2012 states that the lessee was a partnership firm and wished to
transfer the lease to a private limited company which was mere
change of form of its own business by converting itself from a
partnership firm into a private limited company.

The partners

of the firm and Directors of the company were the same and on
transfer, no illegal benefit, price or premium was taken from
the transferee.

The lease was 40 years old and there was no

impediment in the transfer. The transferee will comply with the

rules and regulations.
2012 on that basis.

The transfer was allowed on 25 th April,

After seeking the said permission, the

newly formed private limited company instead of operating the

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mining

lease

itself

sold

its

entire

shareholding

to

another

company allegedly for Rs.160 crores which is alleged to be the

sale price of mining lease.
4.
2014

show cause notice dated 21st April,

On this development, a
was

issued

to

Respondent

No.1

proposing

to

cancel

the

transfer order on the ground that contrary to the statement in

the

application

partnership

firm

for

transfer

will

be

that

the

Directors

of

partners

the

of

private

the

limited

company, the Directors of the private limited company who were

partners

of

August,

2012

the
and

firm
the

were

replaced

private

by

limited

new

on

6 th

listed

as

Directors

company

was

subsidiary of Ultra Tech Cement Limited Company (UTCL) with the

Bombay

Stock

Exchange.

This

development

showed

that

the

transfer was secured by a conspiracy and in circumvention of the

rules.
5.

Respondent No.1 contested the show cause notice.

In its

reply, it stated that the State Government itself had defended

the transfer in its affidavit in reply to the Writ Petition
No.404 of 2013 filed by M/s. J.K. Cement Limited (JKCL).

There

was no bar to the change of Directors and shareholding of a

company under the rules.

Thus, transfer of shareholding and

change of Directors did not amount to transfer of mining lease

nor it affected validity of permission for transfer from GLKU to
GLKUPL.
6.

This stand was held to be unsatisfactory by the competent

authority.

Accordingly,

the

order

dated

25th

April,

2012

was

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rescinded and declared void vide order dated 16th December, 2014.
It was also observed that the department had filed its revised
reply before the High Court and according to the said reply, the
transfer was in violation of Rule 15 of the Rajasthan Minor
Mineral Concession Rules, 1986 (the Rules).
7.

It appears that an FIR dated 7th August, 2014 was also

registered with the Jaipur Main Police Centre on a complaint of

one Dr. Kirit Somaiya on the allegation that GLKU had sold the
mining

lease

unlawful

gain

to

UTCL

was

which

was

acquired

in

not

permissible

connivance

with

department and loss was caused to the State.

and
the

thereby
mining

The erstwhile

partners of the firm which was original lessee, had in effect

transferred the lease in favour of S/Shri K.C. Birla, R. Mehnot
and M.B. Agarwal who took over as Directors of the Private
Limited Company at the instance of UTCL.
8.

The respondent No.1 filed S.B. Civil Writ Petition No.9669

of 2014 seeking quashing of show cause notice dated 21 st April,

2014, the order dated 16th December, 2014 and other consequential
orders.

It was submitted that the order dated 25th April, 2012

permitting transfer of lease from the partnership firm to the

private limited company was in order.

After the said transfer,

the entire shareholding of the company was transferred by the

promoter directors in favour of UTCL in July, 2012, except some
shares which were transferred in joint names of UTCL with some
private persons who were employees of the said company.

Thus,

the

owned

writ

petitioner-Respondent

No.1

became

wholly

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subsidiary of UTCL.

The Directors were replaced by the nominees

of the holding company.

permission

of

part

JKCL had made an application seeking

transfer

of

the

mining

lease

and

its

application was rejected on 5th September, 2012 against which

Writ Petition No.404 of 2013 was filed.

The State Government in

its reply defended its order dated 25th April, 2012.

After the

assembly election in December, 2013, show cause notice dated 21st

April, 2014 was issued and a supplementary reply was filed by
the State in October, 2014 taking a different stand.

It was

submitted that the order dated 16th December, 2014 had not dealt
with the objection regarding applicability of Rule 72 (treating
the

lease

void)

and

the

petitioner in its reply.

and

directorship

of

purposes of the Rules.

the

judgments

relied

upon

by

the

writ

Change in the pattern of shareholding

company

was

of

no

consequence

for

The mining rights are vested in the writ

petitioner company as a consequence of order dated 25th April,

2012 and change in pattern in shareholding or directorship did
not affect the said rights.

Shareholders and directors are not

the owners of the assets of the company.

Company was a distinct

entity and mining lease was owned by the Company.

9.

The writ petition was defended by the State with the plea

that change of all the directors and shareholding amounted to

transfer of the lease in violation of Rule 15 which was void
under Rule 72.

Thus, the order dated 16th December, 2014 was

valid.

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10.

JKCL, who had applied for transfer of part of mining lease

and

was

aggrieved

by

rejection

of

its

application

moved

an

application before the High Court for being added as a party to

oppose the writ petition and was impleaded as a respondent in
the writ petition,
January,

2015.

The

vide order of the High Court dated 28 th

impleaded

party

supported

the

order

of

cancellation inter alia on the ground that one of the conditions

in the order dated 25th April, 2012 was that the document of
transfer was to be executed within three months which was not
done.

Further, the transfer of entire shareholding by the

newly formed company was indirect way to transfer the lease for
consideration by GLKU to UTCL which was not legally permissible.
11.

The

main

issue

framed

by

learned

Single

Judge

for

consideration was as follows:

Whether the action of shareholders of the Company
in transferring its shares to Ultra Tech Cement
Limited and consequently, the Company becoming
wholly owned subsidiary of Ultra Tech Cement
Limited amounts to violation of Rule 15(1) (b) of
the
Rules
is
the
issue
which
requires
consideration.
12.

After referring to the decisions of this Court in Bacha F.

Guzdar vs. CIT1, Heavy Engineering Mazdoor Union vs. State of

Bihar2, Electronics Corporation of India Limited vs. Secretary,
Revenue

Department3,

Amit

Products

(India)

Ltd.

vs.

Chief

Engineer (O&M) Circle4 and Balwant Raj Saluja & Anr. vs. Air

1
2
3
4

AIR 1955 SC 74
(1969) 1 SCC 765
(1999) 4 SCC 458
(2005) 7 SCC 393

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India

Limited

&

Ors.

learned

Single

Judge

concluded

as

follows:
In view of the law laid down by the Honble
Supreme Court in the case of Government Companies,
inter-se
relationship
between
holding
and
subsidiary Companies and fundamental principles
regarding distinction between a shareholder and
the Company, it is apparent that merely on account
of the Company becoming a subsidiary of Ultra Tech
Cement Limited on account of certain action of the
shareholders of the Company, it cannot be said
that the Company is being directly or indirectly
financed to a substantial extent or the Companys
operations
or
undertakings
are
substantially
controlled by Ultra Tech Cement Limited, regarding
which there are absolutely no allegations or
material whatsoever. Therefore, on account of the
petitioner-Company becoming subsidiary of Ultra
Tech Cement Limited, in view of the law laid down
by
the
Honble
Supreme
Court
as
noticed
hereinbefore, it cannot be said that ipso facto
the provisions of Rule 15(1) (b) of the Rules have
been violated by the lessee i.e. petitionerCompany.
13.

Aggrieved by the judgment of the learned Single Judge, the

appellant and the impleaded party JKCL filed appeals before the
Division Bench of the High Court which have been dismissed by
impugned order dated 14th May, 2015.

The Division Bench while

affirming the view taken by the learned Single Judge, inter

alia, observed:
41. The entire corporate business is run through
contracts, which may give statutory or nonstatutory rights to the Company. A Company may
apply and become the owner of the license, permit,
concessions and lease under the statutory schemes
of various statutes, under which the Company
carries out its business. In all such cases, the
license, concessions, permit and lease are the
property
of
the
Company
and
not
of
its
shareholders.
The
shareholders
may
keep
on
changing and the control and management in the
5

(2014) 9 SCC 407

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Company may also undergo changes on such transfer

of shares, but the assets and properties of the
Company including license, permit, concessions and
lease continue to belong to the Company and that
any acquisition or transfer of such assets will
not relate back to the share-holding of the
Company or the management of the Company, which
may change on the change in the shareholding of
the Company.
xxxx
43. We do not find any substance in the reliance
placed on the judgment of Supreme Court in
Victorian Granites (P) Ltd. V/s P.Rama Rao and
ors. ((1996) 10 SCC 665), in which it was held
that the socio-economic justice is the arch of the
Constitution
and
the
public
resources
under
Article 39(b) must be distributed to achieve that
objective since liberty and meaningful right of
life are hedged with availability of opportunities
and resources to augment economic empowerment. The
principles sought to be developed in Victorian
Granites (P) Ltd. (supra) have not been accepted
by
the
Supreme
Court
in
Natural
Resources
Allocation, In Re, Special Reference No.1 of 2012
((2012) 10 SCC 1), in which while distinguishing
the judgment in 2G Spectrum Case, it was held in
paragraph 129 that there is no constitutional
mandate in favour of action under Article 14. The
Government has repeatedly deviated from the course
of action and the Supreme Court has repeatedly
upheld such actions. The judiciary tests such
deviations on the limited scope of arbitrariness
and fairness under Article 14 and its role is
limited to that extent. Essentially, whenever the
object
of
policy
is
anything
but
revenue
maximization, the executive is seen to adopt
methods other than auction.
xxxxxx
46. It is of common knowledge that the corporate
entities frequently undergoes changes in shareholding patterns. The Company Law permits it, and
that the entire corporate world moves on such
permissible
transactions.
The
shares
of
the
Company are bought and sold every day on the Stock
Exchanges, which may result into change in the
control of the management of the Company. The
changes, however, do not affect the contracts
under which the Company has to transact its

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business, including the acquisition of assets,

licenses, permits, concessions and leases. In case
the
argument
of
learned
Additional
Advocate
General is accepted, the change in the shareholding pattern would amount to cancellation of
all such contracts, leading to a complete chaos in
the
corporate
world.
The
entire
object
of
providing limited liability of shareholders under
the Companies Act will be affected by such
interpretation of law and in such case, the
holding Companies, Public Limited Companies and
the wholly owned subsidiaries will have to apply
for consent and permission in case of change in
the
share-holding
patterns
of
the
Company,
affecting their business. We, therefore, reject
the submission of learned Additional Advocate
General and learned counsel appearing for M/s
J.K.Cement Limited that any consequence of the
change in the share-holding pattern of the Private
Limited Company by which it became a wholly owned
subsidiary of Ultra Tech Cement would have
required a permission for transfer or that if such
proposal was in the making, the change in the
personalty of the partnership firm to a Private
Limited Company would require previous consent in
writing of the competent authority.
47. We entirely agree with the reasons assigned by
learned Single Judge that no material has been
placed on record to suggest that the transfer of
the mining lease from the partnership firm to a
Private Limited Company was made with a design to
ultimately transfer the shares to Ultra Tech
Cement Limited. There is no evidence to suggest
any such design or attempt at the time when the
application was made for transfer of mining lease
by the partnership to the Private Limited Company.
48. We also do not find any case of cheating or
fraud in the transfer of mining lease by either
the partners of the partnership firm or the
Directors of the Private Limited Company, for
which the officers of the Mining Department and
competent authority could be liable or any
criminal action can be taken against them. The
competent authority had fully understood and had
acted in accordance with the law, on the facts
placed before it, in granting consent in writing
before
transfer
of
mining
lease
from
the
partnership firm to the Private Limited Company.
The State Government in its reply in the Writ
Petition No.404/2013 had taken a correct stand in
defence of the transfer of mining lease. It

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appears that with the change of Government, the

loyalties changed from one business group to
another, and the State Government not only
initiated action by issuing show cause notice for
declaring the permission for transfer to be null
and void, but also proposed to take action against
its officers for granting permission. The entire
action to cancel the lease was actuated with
malice in law. An additional affidavit was filed
in the writ petition filed by M/s J.K.Cement
Limited changing the stand of the Government in
triggering action apparently to the benefit of M/s
J.K.Cement Limited, instrumental in blocking the
expansion of capacity of production of cement by
Ultra Tech Cement Limited.

49. Though we find that learned Single Judge has

not gone into and recorded any finding on malice
in law, the facts placed before us and the
arguments advanced clearly indicate that the
entire action was coloured with malice in law. The
object and purpose of declaring the permission for
transfer to be null and void and cancellation of
mining lease was for the purpose of restricting
the expansion of business activities of Ultra Tech
Cement Limited owned by Birla Group of Companies
in the State of Rajasthan.
14.

When the matter came up for hearing before this Court on

18th September, 2015 following order was passed:

In the meantime, the State shall file an
affidavit giving details of the circumstances in
which normally an application for transfer of
mining lease is granted/ rejected. If there is any
policy in this regard, the same will be placed on
record and if there is no such policy, the State
shall mention as to how many applications for
transfer of mining lease were granted/rejected in
last two years and shall also give the reasons for
which they were granted or rejected.
15.

Accordingly, an affidavit has been filed by the State of

Rajasthan stating that there was no specific policy regarding

the granting/rejecting of a transfer of a lease.
lease

could

not

be

transferred

without

the

However, a

consent

of

the

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competent authority.

In the case of one Shri Abdul Kareem, on

death of a lessee, the legal heirs formed a partnership and

sought mutation in favour of the partnership firm.

It was

later learnt that the partners retired and new partners were
inducted and on that basis the transfer was declared void.
16.

JKCL, respondent No.2, who had also filed independent writ

petition before the High Court, has referred to documents which

are part of record to submit that in the present case, sale of
shares by GLKUPL to UTCL is nothing but sale of the mining lease
for

consideration

of

Rs.160

crores.

This

consideration

is

reflected in annual report 2012-2013 of the UTCL in the form of

investment

in

shares

of

GLKUPL.

It

has

also

referred

to

averments in pleadings/written submissions before the High Court

that GLKUPL was incorporated on 26th March, 2012. On 28th March,
2012

application

for

transfer

of

lease

Permission was granted on 25th April, 2012.

was

made

by

GLKU.

Transfer deed was

executed on 8th August, 2013 but on 23rd July, 2012 itself entire
shareholding was transferred to UTCL for Rs.160 crores.

Thus,

on 8th August, 2013, transferee was UTCL without the consent of

the State.

This was contrary to rules and standard conditions

of transfer.

In para 3(iii) of the transfer deed there is a

declaration that the transferor has not directly or indirectly

been financed.

We will refer to these aspects in due course.

17.

We have heard learned counsel for the parties at length.

18.

As already stated the question for consideration is whether

in the given fact situation the transfer of entire shareholding

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and change of all the directors of a newly formed company to

which lease rights were transferred by a declaration that it was
mere change of form of partnership business without any transfer
for consideration being involved can be taken as unauthorized
transfer of lease which could be declared void.
19.

Learned counsel for the appellants submitted that the view

of the High Court that sale of entire shareholding in favour of

UTCL by the newly formed company which had no other assets or
business except the mining lease and appointment of nominees of
UTCL as Directors of GLKUPL did not amount to change of control
of GLKUPL to UTCL or that it was not transfer of mining lease
for consideration was clearly erroneous.
that

transfer

of

shareholding

took

In view of the fact

place

just

after

the

formation of GLKUPL by partnership firm holding the lease on a

declaration that no third party was involved nor any direct or
indirect consideration was involved, it was clear that formation
of GLKUPL itself was a device for transfer of mining lease from
GLKU to UTCL for monetary consideration without disclosing the
real

transaction

to

the

competent

authority.

required to see the substance and not mere form.

The

Court

was

The judgments

relied upon only stated the general principle of identity of the

company being distinct from shareholders and directors which was
subject to the doctrine of piercing the veil to discover the
real nature of transaction when it was different from what was
apparent.
transfer
routine

In the present case, it was not a case of mere

of

shareholding

merger

but

use

or
of

change
device

of
to

Directors

or

unauthorisedly

even

acquire
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mining lease by misleading the competent authority by concealing

the real transaction.

Real transaction is of impermissible sale

of the lease which was the only asset of the company.

If true

facts that lease was to be sold were disclosed, power to permit

transfer of lease may not have been exercised.
be transferred to make profit.

Lease could not

Thus, the doctrine of lifting

the corporate veil should be invoked.

The public power of

permitting transfer of lease could not be used to benefit a

private operator, who sells its rights in natural resources
given to it by the State, in violation of law. Reliance has been
placed on Victorian Granites (P) Ltd. vs. P. Rama Rao and Ors.6.
The

High

Court

noticing it.
been

to

not

appreciate

the

judgment

even

after

The controlling power of the lease has completely

transferred

brought

did

the

for

consideration

knowledge

of

the

without

competent

this

fact

authority

being
having

jurisdiction to permit and regulate the power to transfer the

lease.

Law governing relationship between a company and its

shareholders inter se has to be applied having regard to reality

of a transaction and to effectuate the regulatory provisions
dealing with subject.

The constitutional principles and the

regulatory regime in relation to the mining leases of minerals

which vest in the State cannot be defeated by the abstract
doctrine of corporate personality being separate from the entire
body of shareholders without having regard to the real nature of
transaction

and

the

well

known

exceptions

to

this

abstract

doctrine.
6

(1996) 10 SCC 665

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20.

Learned

counsel

for

the

respondent-writ

supported the view taken by the High Court.

petitioner

He submitted that

there was no transfer of lease involved in transfer of entire

shareholding and change of directors and in such a situation no
permission for transfer was required to be taken.

Transaction

of sale of shareholding was independent of transfer of lease to

the newly formed private limited company without any monetary
consideration as was correctly declared.

In any case, transfer

of lease was permissible and only consideration was payment of

dead

rent/royalty

and

compliance

of

procedural

formalities.

There was nothing inherently illegal in transfer of a lease.

He

cited instances of takeover and merger of companies with running

business including the cases of Vedanta and BALCO to which we
will refer later.
21.

We

have

given

thoughtful

consideration

to

the

issue

arising for consideration.

22.

In the present case there are two transactions. Viewed

separately, there may be nothing wrong with either or both but

if real nature of transaction is seen, the illegality is patent.
In first transaction of transfer of lease from the firm to the
company, with the permission of the competent authority, only
disclosure made while seeking permission for transfer is of
transforming partnership business into a private limited company
with

same

partners

as

directors

without

there

being

any

financial consideration for the transfer and without there being

any

third

transfer

party.

by

itself.

There
In

is

perhaps

the

second

nothing

wrong

transaction,

in

the

such

entire
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shareholding

is

transferred

for

share

price

and

control

of

mining lease is acquired by the holding company without any

apparent price for lease.

Technically lease rights are not

sold, only shares are sold.

No permission for transfer of lease

hold rights may be required.

Let us now see the combined effect

and real substance of the two transactions.

The partnership

firm holding lease hold rights has successfully transferred the

said rights to a third party for consideration in the form of
share price which is nothing but price for sale of mining lease
which

is

granted.

not

allowed

and

for

which

no

permission

has

been

Thus, if these facts were disclosed to the competent

authority,

permission

for

transfer

of

mining

financial consideration could not be allowed.

rights

for

Mining rights

belong to the State and not to the lessee and the lessee has no
right to profiteer by trading such rights.
has also not claimed such a right.

In fact the lessee

Lessee can either operate

the mine or surrender or transfer only with the permission of

the authority as legally required. In the present case, the
lessee

has

achieved

indirectly

what

could

not

be

achieved

directly by concealing the real nature of the transaction.

Is

it legally permissible, is the question.

23.
to

The principle of lifting the corporate veil as an exception

the

distinct

corporate

personality

of

company

or

its

members is well recognized not only to unravel tax evasion7 but

also

where

protection

of

public

interest

is

of

paramount

importance and the corporate entity is an attempt to evade legal

7

(1967) 1 SCR 934 The Commissioner of Income Tax, Madras vs. Sri Meenakshi Mills Ltd.

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obligations and lifting of veil is necessary to prevent a device

to avoid welfare legislation8.

It is neither necessary nor

desirable to enumerate the classes of cases where lifting the

veil is permissible, since that must necessarily depend on the
relevant statutory or other provisions, the object sought to be
achieved, the impugned conduct, the involvement of the element
of

the

public

interest,

the

effect

on

parties

who

may

be

affected etc.9
24.

In

State

of

U.P.

vs.

Renusagar

Power

Co.10

this

Court

observed:
66. It is high time to reiterate that in the
expanding horizon of modern jurisprudence, lifting
of corporate veil is permissible. Its frontiers
are unlimited. It must, however, depend primarily
on the realities of the situation. The aim of the
legislation is to do justice to all the parties.
The horizon of the doctrine of lifting of
corporate veil is expanding
67. In the aforesaid view of the matter we are of
the opinion that the corporate veil should be
lifted and Hindalco and Renusagar be treated as
one concern and Renusagars power plant must be
treated as the own source of generation of
Hindalco and should be liable to duty on that
basis. In the premises the consumption of such
energy by Hindalco will fall under Section 3(1)(c)
of the Act. The learned Additional AdvocateGeneral for the State relied on several decisions,
some of which have been noted.
68. The veil on corporate personality even though
not lifted sometimes, is becoming more and more
transparent in modern company jurisprudence. The
ghost of Salomon case (1897 AC 22) still visits
8

(1985) 4 SCC 114 Workmen Employed in Associated Rubber Industry Ltd., Bhavnagar vs.
Associated Rubber Industry Ltd., Bhavnagar
9 (1986) 1 SCC 264 (LIC vs. Escorts Ltd.) which refers to
Palmers Company Law (23rd Ed.) and Pennington Company Law (4th Ed.) followed in New
Horizons Ltd. vs. UOI (1995) 1 SCC 478
10 (1988) 4 SCC 59

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17

frequently the hounds of Company Law but the veil

has been pierced in many cases. Some of these have
been noted by Justice P.B. Mukharji in the New
Jurisprudence (Tagore Law Lectures, P. 183).

25.

In Delhi Development Authority versus Skiper Construction

Company (P) Ltd.11, it was observed :

24. Lifting the corporate veil :

In
Aron
Salomon
v.
Salomon
&
Company
Limited (1897) AC 22, the House of Lords had
observed, "the company is at law a different
person altogether from the subscriber...; and
though it may be that after incorporation the
business is precisely the same as it was before
and the same persons are managers and the same
hands received the profits, the company is not in
law the agent of the subscribers or trustee for
them. Nor are the subscribers as members liable,
in any shape or form, except to the extent and in
the manner provided by that Act". Since then,
however, the Courts have come to recognise several
exceptions to the said rule. While it is not
necessary to refer to all of them, the one
relevant to us is "when the corporate personality
is being blatantly used as a cloak for fraud or
improper conduct". (Gower : Modern Company Law 4th Edn. (1979) at P. 137). Pennington (Company
Law - 5th Edn. 1985 at P. 53) also states that
"where the protection of public interests is of
paramount importance or where the company has been
formed to evade obligations imposed by the law",
the court will disregard the corporate veil. A
Professor of Law, S. Ottolenghi in his article
"From Peeping Behind the Corporate Veil, to
Ignoring it Completely" says
"the concept of 'piercing the veil' in
the United States is much more developed
than in the UK. The motto, which was
laid down by Sanborn, J. and cited since
then as the law, is that 'when the
notion of legal entity is used to defeat
public
convenience,
justify
wrong,
protect fraud, or defend crime, the law
11 (1996) 4 SCC 622

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will
regard
the
corporation
as
an
association of persons. The same can be
seen in various European jurisdictions".
[(1990) 53 MLR 338]. Indeed, as far back 1912,
another American Professor L. Maurice Wormser
examined the American decisions on the subject in
a brilliantly written article "Piercing the veil
of corporate entity" (published in (1912) 12 CLR
496) and summarised their central holding in the
following words :
The various classes of cases where the
concept of corporate entity should be
ignored and and veil drawn aside have
now been briefly reviewed. What general
rule, if any, can be laid down ? The
nearest approximation to generalization
which
the
present
state
of
the
authorities would warrant is this: When
the conception of corporate entity is
employed to defraud creditors, to evade
an existing obligation, to circumvent a
statute,
to
achieve
or
perpetuate
monopoly, or to protect knavery or
crime, the courts will draw aside the
web of entity, will regard the corporate
company as an association of live, upand-doing, men and women shareholders,
and
will
do
justice
between
real
persons.
25. In Palmer's Company Law, this topic is
discussed in Part-II of Vol-I. Several situations
where the court will disregard the corporate veil
are set out. It would be sufficient for our
purposes to quote the eighth exception. It runs :
"The
courts
have
further
shown
themselves willing to 'lifting the veil'
where the device of incorporation is
used
for
some
illegal
or
improper
purpose.... Where a vendor of land
sought to avoid the action for specific
performance by transferring the land in
breach of contract to a company he had
formed
for
the
purpose,
the
court
treated the company as a mere 'sham' and

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made an order for specific performance

against
both
the
vendor
and
the
company".
Similar views have been expressed by all the
commentators on the Company Law which we do not
think it necessary to refer.
(underlining is ours)

26.

It is thus clear that the doctrine of lifting the veil can

be invoked if the public interest so requires or if there is

allegation

of

violation

corporate entity.

of

law

by

using

the

device

of

In the present case, the corporate entity has

been used to conceal the real transaction of transfer of mining

lease

to

third

party

for

consideration

without

statutory

consent by terming it as two separate transactions the first

of transforming a partnership into a company and the second of
sale

of

entire

shareholding

to

law

which

which

is

is

not

real

Thus, the doctrine of lifting the veil has to be

effect

lease

The

permitted.

give

mining

company.

is

to

of

another

transaction

applied

sale

to

sought

legally

to

be

circumvented.

27.

In Victorian Granites (supra), it was observed:4. It is true that a facade of compliance of law
has been done by P. Rama Rao and Magam Inc. for
having the transfer of the leasehold interests had
by P. Rama Rao made in favour of the latter. The
best of the legal brains will be available to
escape the clutches of law and transactions would
be so shown to be in compliance of semblance of
law. In that pursuit, payment of royalty and
permits remained in the name of P. Rama Rao. The
court has to pierce through the process, lift the
veil and reach the genesis and effect. Article
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20

39(b) of the Constitution envisages that the State

shall, in particular, direct its policies towards
securing that the ownership and control of the
material resources of the community are so
distributed as best to subserve the common good.
Socio-economic
justice
is
the
arch
of
the
Constitution. The public resources are distributed
to achieve that objective since liberty and
meaningful
right
of
life
are
hedged
with
availability of opportunities and resources to
augment economic empowerment. The question is
whether the transfer is to subserve the above
common good and constitutional objective? It is
true that when the individuals have been granted
lease of mining of the property belonging to the
Government, the object of such transfer was to
augment the economic empowerment of the transferee
by himself or by a cooperative society or
partnership composing persons to work out the
mines to achieve economic empowerment. Whether
such a transfer could be made a subterfuge to
circumvent
the
constitutional
philosophy
and
thereby the constitutional objective be sabotaged
in that behalf? Answer would be obviously in the
negative...
28.

It is also well settled that mining rights are vested in

the State and the lessee is strictly bound by the terms of the
lease12.

Cases of Arun Kumar Agrawal vs. Union of India13 (the

Vedanta case), BALCO Employees Union vs. Union of India14 (the

BALCO

case)

and

Vodafone

International

Holdings

B.V.

versus

Union of India15 cited by learned counsel for the respondent

have no application to the present case once real transaction is
found to be different from the apparent transactions.
the principle of law laid down in Vodafone case

In fact,

(supra) that

the court can look to the real transaction goes against the
12 (2013) 6 SCC 476 (Orissa Mining Corpn. Ltd. vs. Ministry of Environment and Forest) Para
58; (1981) 2 SCC 205 (State of Tamil Nadu vs. M/s Hind Stone) Para 37; (2012) 11 SCC 1
( Monnet Ispat & Energy Ltd. vs. Union of India) Para 41; (1976) 4 SCC 108 (Amritlal
Nathubhai Shah vs. Union Govt. of India); (2013) 7 SCC 571 (Geomin Minerals & Marketing
Ltd. vs. State of Orissa)
13 (2013) 7 SCC 1
14 (2002) 2 SCC 333
15 (2012) 6 SCC 613

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21

respondent .
29.

In

Vedanta

(supra)16

case

approval

granted

by

the

Government of India for acquisition of majority stake in Cairn

Energy Ltd. (CIL) was challenged and a direction was sought for
the ONGC to exercise right of pre-emption over shares of CIL.
Further challenge was to transfer of ONGC shareholding in CIL to
Vedanta,

interest.

private

company,

as

being

contrary

to

public

This Court held that various commercial and technical

aspects have been duly considered by the Government of India and

this Court could not sit in judgment over the commercial and
business decisions so taken.

Reference was also made to earlier

decision in BALCO case (supra) laying down that Courts may not
ordinarily

interfere

with

economic

decisions

and

wisdom

of

economic policies of the State in exercise of its power of

judicial

review.

These

judgments

are

in

the

context

of

situations where highest public authorities had applied their

mind to all the facts in which case the Court was not inclined
to interfere.

Such is not the position in the present case.

No public authority, in the present case, was even conscious

that mining lease was being transferred to UTCL and at what
price or for what benefit to the public.
30.

In Vodafone case (supra)17 the dispute arose out of claim by

the income tax department to tax capital gain arising out of

sale

of

Vodafone.

share

capital

Question

of

was

company

whether

called

income

CGP

accrued

by
in

HEL

to

India.

16 (2013) 7 SCC 1 Para 1

17 (2012) 6 SCC 613 Para 179

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22

Negativing

the

claim

of

the

Revenue,

it

was

held

that

transaction took place outside territorial jurisdiction of India

and was not taxable.

This Court observed that it is the task

of the court to ascertain the legal nature of the transaction

and while doing so it has to look at the entire transaction as a
whole

and

not

concluding,

to

the

adopt

court

approach. 18

dissecting

reconciled

the

apparent

In

so

conflicting

approach in earlier decisions in Mc. Dowell & Co. vs. Commercial

Tax Officer19 and Union of India vs. Azadi Bachao Andolan20 with
reference to English decisions in IRC vs. Westminister21 and
W.T. Ramsay vs. IRC22 dealing with the question whether the Court
must accept a transaction on face value or not.

Thus, while

discerning true nature of the entire transaction, court has not

to merely see the form of the transaction which is of sale of
shares but also the substance which is the private sale of
mining rights avoiding legal bar against transfer of sale rights
circumventing the mandatory consent of the competent authority.
Consent of competent authority is not a formality and transfer
without consent is void.
mining

lease

framework.
receipt

of

can
There

Rs.160

be
is

The minerals vest in the State and

operated
nothing

crores

strictly
to

styled

within

rebut
as

nothing but sale price of the lease.

the

the

statutory

allegation

investment

in

that

shares

is

No precedent has been

shown permitting such a private sale of a mining lease for

18
19
20
21
22

Para 64
(1985) 3 SCC 230
(2004) 10 SCC 1
1936 AC 1
1982 AC 300

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consideration without any corresponding benefit to the public.

31.

In the recent past, there have been serious allegations of

illegalities and deficiencies in the regulatory regime of mining

leases.

As noted by this Court in Goa Foundation (supra), the

Government of India appointed a former Judge of this Court,

Justice M.B. Shah to go into various aspects of illegal mining,
including grant and transfer of leases.
public

knowledge

that

in

the

wake

of

It is a matter of
reports

submitted

by

Justice Shah, the policy framework and statutory provisions have

undergone changes at various levels. Changes suggested include
the mode and manner of grant and renewal of lease rights. A
facet of this aspect has been gone into by us in our order dated
04th January, 2016 in Civil Appeal Nos. 4845-4846 of 2015 titled
Sulekhan Singh & Co. vs. State of U.P.

Since, the mining rights

vest in the State, the State has to regulate transfer of such

rights in the best interest of the people.

No lessee can trade

mining rights by adopting a device of forming a private limited

company and transfer of entire shareholding only with a view to
sell the mining rights for private profit as has happened in the
present case.

We may note that under Section 12A(6) added by

the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment

Act,

2015,

it

has

been

provided

that

transfer

of

mineral

concessions can be allowed only if such concessions are granted

through auction.
32.

In these circumstances, the plea of the writ petitioner

that the lessee has a vested right to transfer the lease subject

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merely

to

correct.

compliance

of

formalities

cannot

be

accepted

The submission is contrary to scheme of law.

as
As

already observed mining rights vest in State and are regulated

consistent

with

the

doctrine

of

public

trust.

The

rules

prohibit transfer of mining lease for consideration without the

previous

consent

of

competent

authority

in

writing23.

The

23 R.15. Transfer of Mining Lease.- (1) The lessee shall not without the previous consent in
writing of the competent authority(a) assign, sublet, mortgage or in any other manner transfer the mining lease or any
right, title or interest therein, or
(b) enter into or make any arrangement, contract or understanding whereby the lessee
will or may be directly or indirectly financed to a substantial extent by, or under which the
lessee's operations or undertakings will or may be substantially controlled by any person or
body of person other than lessee.
Provided that the lessee of masonary stone may, with the prior permission of concerned
ME/AME and subject to such conditions as he may specify therein, allow any Government
contractor to install and operate stone gitti crusher till the completion of construction work.
Provided further that such permission shall be given by ME/AME after obtaining
registered consent of the lessee and also on the condition that the crusher owner shall use
masonary stone produced from the concerned lease area only.
Provided also that wherever required, permission of Revenue and other Departments
may also be taken before issuing such permission. (1A) Every application for transfer of Mining
Lease shall be accompanied by a fee of [Rs.5000/- for Marble, Sand Stone & granite and Rs.
2000/- for other minerals] and shall be submitted to the Mining Engineer / Assistant Mining
Engineer. (1AA) The Government may subject to the condition specified in rule 11(2) transfer
whole area of the lease to a person on payment to the Government transfer premium [equal to
existing dead rent;]
grant.

Provided that the lease has remained in force for at least two years from the date of

Provided further that such transfer shall not be made if there are any dues outstanding
against the transferor or transferee.
Provided further also that where the mortgagee is a State Institution or a bank or a
State corporation, it shall not be necessary for the lessee to obtain the previous consent of the
competent authority or previous sanction of the State Government. However, the lessee shall
inform the competent authority about any mortgage in favour of any State institution, Bank or
State Corporation within a period of 3 months from the date of mortgage or assignment.
(2) An application for transfer of mining lease 17 shall be disposed of by competent
authority:[xxx]
Provided that transfer of mining lease, granted to the category of persons mentioned in
sub-rule (3) of rule 7 shall be made only to a person belonging to any of the categories
mentioned in the clause of the said sub-rule.
(3) Transfer of mining lease shall not be considered as a matter of right and the

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original lessee gave declaration while seeking transfer, that no

consideration was received which though apparently correct was
actually false as the subsequent transaction of sale of shares
was integral part of the first transaction of transfer of lease
to private company which soon thereafter became subsidiary of
another company.

The said real transaction cannot be ignored to

find out the substance.

33.

Thus, acquisition of mining lease contrary to rules is

void.

Requirement of previous consent cannot be ignored nor

taken to be formality subject only to pay dead rent or agreeing

to follow same terms.

The lessee privately and unauthorisedly

cannot sell its rights for consideration and profiteer from

rights which belong to State.
contrary assumption.

There is no warrant for any

The State has to exercise its power of

granting or refusing permission for transfer of lease in a fair

and reasonable manner but following doctrine of public trust.
This

Court

has

held

that

the

State

cannot

overlook

illegal

transfers24.
34.

The State must have a declared policy for exercise of its

Government may refuse for such transfer for the reasons to be recorded and communicated
in writing to the lessee.
(4) Where on an application for transfer of mining lease under this rule the competent
authority has given consent for such lease, a transfer lease deed in Form No.15 or a form as
near thereto as possible, shall be executed within three months of the date of the consent,
or within such period as the competent authority may allow in this behalf.
R.72. Mining operations to be under lease or licence.- No mining lease, quarry license,
shortterm-permit or any other permit shall be granted otherwise than in accordance with the
provisions of these rules and if granted shall be deemed to be null and void.
24 (2014) 6 SCC 590 (Goa Foundation vs. Union of India) Para 60

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26

power of permitting or refusing transfer of mining leases and

such

policy

However,

should

even

in

be

operated

absence

of

in

policy

transparent
and

manner.

irrespective

of

exercise of power in the past, transfer of lease for private

benefit without corresponding benefit to the public or the State
exchequer is not permitted.

After all, minerals vest in the

State and the State has to exercise its power to deal with them
as per doctrine of public trust.

Thus, in the present case, the

State was certainly entitled to exercise its jurisdiction to

cancel lease transferred in violation of rules.
35.

As already seen, in the present case, the original lessee

sought transfer merely by disclosing that the partnership firm

was to be transformed into a private limited company with the
same partners continuing as directors and there was no direct or
indirect consideration involved.

It was specifically declared

that no pecuniary advantage was being taken in the process which

is clearly false.

The permission to transfer the lease in

favour of a private limited company was granted on that basis.

Thus, it was a case of suppression veri and suggestio falsi.
Once

it

is

held

that

transfer

of

lease

is

not

permissible

without permission of the competent authority, the competent

authority was entitled to have full disclosure of facts for
taking a decision in the matter so that a private person does
not benefit at the expense of public property.

The original

lessee did not disclose that the real purpose was not merely to
change its partnership business into a private limited company

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27

as claimed but to privately transfer the lease by sale to a

third party. This aspect has also escaped the attention of the
High Court.

Accordingly, our answer to the question framed is

that in the facts of the present case, sale of shareholding by

GLKUPL

to UTCL is a private unauthorized sale of mining lease

which being in violation of rules is void.

GLKUPL has been

formed merely as a device to avoid the legal requirement for

transfer of mining lease and to facilitate private benefit to
the parties to the transaction, to the detriment of the public.
36.

Learned single Judge and the Division Bench have gone by

only one aspect of law, i.e. the general principle that sale of
shares by itself is not sale of assets but this principle is
subject to the doctrine of piercing of corporate veil wherever
necessary to give effect to the policy of law.

In the present

case, this principle clearly applies as transfer of shares to

cover up the real transaction which is sale of mining lease for
consideration

without

the

previous

authority, as statutorily required.

consent

of

competent

The statutory requirement

is sought to be overcome with the plea that it was a transaction

merely of transfer of shareholding when on the face of it the
transaction is clearly that of sale of the mining lease.

In

view of the above, the view taken by the High Court cannot be
sustained.
37.

Accordingly, this appeal is allowed and the judgment of the

High Court is set aside.

We, however, direct the State of

Rajasthan to frame and notify its policy in the matter wit hin

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28

one month from the receipt of a copy of this order.

The State

of Rajasthan may within one month thereafter pass an appropriate

order in respect of the mining lease in question in the light of
the policy so framed.

Till such a decision is taken, status quo

may be maintained.
...J.
[ANIL R. DAVE]

....J.
[ ADARSH KUMAR GOEL ]
NEW DELHI
JANUARY 20, 2016

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